FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – Inter Miami and Nashville SC must be getting tired of each other.
They’ll meet in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series in the MLS Cup Playoffs – their third matchup in as many weeks – on Saturday, Nov. 1 at Geodis Park in Nashville, Tenn.
It’s been a one-sided affair, to say the least.
Lionel Messi had a hat trick with an assist in a 5-2 win on the final day of the regular season in Nashville on Oct. 18, then scored two goals with an assist in a 3-1 win in Game 1 at Inter Miami’s Chase Stadium on Oct. 24.
Still, it’s just a 1-0 series lead for Inter Miami, where a close-out win on the road will help them move onto the second round of the playoffs.
Game 3, if necessary, would be on Nov. 8.
“We know despite having had two positive results against them in the last two weekends, we have to understand that Nashville has put us in many difficult moments,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said of Nashville before practice on Friday, Oct 31. “We’ve dealt with it well, but they’ll surely put us in a difficult moment again. We have to be prepared for that.”
Inter Miami has not lost in its last 10 matches against Nashville, but expects them to play with the same intensity they had in the first half of their Decision Day match to end the season.
Nashville led 2-1 at halftime at home with goals from Jacob Shaffelburg and Sam Surridge, a 2025 MVP finalist this season like Messi. However, Messi scored two of Inter Miami’s four unanswered goals in the second half of that matchup.
During Game 1, Messi and Inter Miami took a 3-0 lead before Nashville’s Hany Mukhtar scored a free kick in the closing minutes to ruin a clean sheet.
While Inter Miami may feel in command, their historic first-round playoff loss to Atlanta United last season still lingers this postseason.
Inter Miami, the 2024 Supporters’ Shield winners, won Game 1 against Atlanta before dropping the next two matches to end their season short of MLS Cup title expectations.
“We’re doing well as a group. We’re on a good run. But we can’t get overconfident about our opponents because anything can happen,” said Tadeo Allende, who scored in Game 1 of the series for Inter Miami.
Inter Miami left back Jordi Alba returned to practice after missing a session Tuesday due to a finger injury, Mascherano said.
Midfielder Rodrigo De Paul was given an excused absence after Game 1 to see his girlfriend, Argentine singer Tini Stoessel, perform in concert last weekend in Argentina. He returned to practice on Monday, and practiced all week.
“Rodrigo traveled over the weekend because we gave them Saturday and Sunday off. He had to travel to Argentina for personal reasons, and we gave him permission to do so. On Monday, he was here training with the rest of the team,” Mascherano said of De Paul.
“I’m one of those coaches who, when I give players time off, I don’t ask them what they’re going to do … their private life is their private life. I have no reason to get involved in their private life. I’ll also tell you that we knew he had to travel for some personal matters he had to resolve in Argentina, and he took advantage of the weekend to do so.”